“We’re getting the momentum at the right time of the season,” Hughes told BBC Radio Stoke.

“We’re not a million miles from where we wanted to be at this stage of the season, so let’s see how far we can go.

“After three defeats, we wanted to bounce back and get some momentum. Maybe we’ve been guilty in the past of not being able to despatch teams, but we’ve done it by beating teams fighting for their lives.”

How far can the Potters go?

Stoke’s highest finish in a season is fourth in the old Division One, in the 1935-36 and 1946-47 seasons.

Fifth or sixth place would mean a Europa League slot and the chance to repeat their adventure under Tony Pulis in 2011-12, when they got through two qualifying rounds against Hajduk Split and Thun and qualified from their group before bowing out at the last-32 stage to Valencia.

But the first target is to do what they have done for the last two seasons under Hughes and better the previous year’s efforts.